Wolves this Week: Mar. 21-28

A tough week has Wolves fighting for playoffs

It has been a tough month for the Chicago Wolves, who have gone 4-6-2 in March, and now find themselves fighting for their playoff lives after dropping two-of-three this past week. The Wolves sit in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 69 points (30-23-5-4), however, are only one point from dropping to 12th spot.

-Newly signed Canucks prospect, Kellan Lain, made his professional debut on Friday night and made an impact on his first shift, creating a nice screen on a Jeremy Blain shot and Michael Davies was able to find the rebound and put the puck in the back of the net..

-Lain made his physical presence felt with seven minutes left in the first period against Toronto, hammering Marlies defenseman Mike Komisarek into the boards.

-Brett Sterling made his return on Friday after being out for over two months with an injury and promptly scored twice and added the lone-goal in the shootout..

-Prior to Friday’s game the Wolves traded defenseman Derek Joslin to the Worcester Sharks in return for veteran blueliner Danny Groulx. Groulx grabbed two assists in his Wolves debut. The trade is an AHL trade only and the Canucks still retain the rights to Joslin.

-Darren Archibald picked up two helpers against Toronto, giving him nine points (4-5-9) in 10 games in the month of March.

-Canucks prospect Ludwig Blomstrand made his AHL debut on Saturday against Peoria. The Canucks fourth-round selection in 2011 made his physical presence known early in the game, boarding a Rivermen player hard into the board which resulted in a mini-ruckus.

-Saturday marked the third time this season that the Wolves have been shutout.

-FIGHT and FIGHT! Guillaume Desbiens threw down with Admirals forward Michael Latta in a long and spirited bout just over three minutes into Sunday’s game, while just one second later Wolves forward Devin DiDiomete went toe-to-toe against Michael Liambas. One thing is very clear, the Wolves don’t like opposition players named Michael.

Wolf of the Week

After being out of the line-up since January 18, Brett Sterling returned to the Wolves lineup with a bang. The bearded veteran scored twice on Friday night and also notched the lone-goal in the shootut, giving the Wolves the win over Toronto. The Los Angeles, California, native took a nice pass from Darren Archibald and found the back of the net to make it 2-0 in the middle stanza and later in the period tipped in a Darren Haydar shot to make it 3-1. The 29-year-old who, also wears number 29, fired nine shots on goal in two games this past weekend.

Coming Up…

Wednesday, March 27 vs. Oklahoma City BaronsThe Wolves host the Oklahoma City Barons (Edmonton Oilers, 30-23-2-7) in their second-of-four meetings on the year. The Wolves were victorious in their only other meeting against the Barons, winning 6-3 back on January 6 in Chicago.Friday, March 29 vs. Lake Erie MonstersFriday night will be meeting three-of-four on the season between the Wolves and the Lake Erie Monsters (Colorado Avalanche, 28-28-3-7). The Wolves have come out on top in both the previous meetings, the last coming on February 16 when Chicago prevailed by a score of 3-1.Saturday, March 30 vs. Milwaukee AdmiralsThe Wolves will seek revenge on the Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators, 32-24-4-3) after the 4-1 beating they laid on them on Sunday afternoon. This marks meeting 10-of-12 between the Midwest Division rivals with the Admirals winning seven of the previous nine games.